Your Website Doesn’t Have to be Lousy

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YOUR WEBSITE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE LOUSY

CONSIDERATIONS ON TAKING YOUR WEBSITE FROM LOUSY TO LOVELY.

Melissa Murphy, CISR, CICMarketing Specialist MAIA

KNOW YOUR GOAL(S)

BUILDING BLOCKS

Make informed decisions and create a vision.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR WEBSITE?Be Found

Increase Search Engine Rank (SEO)

Lead GenerationSales Tool

Establish Your ExpertiseAnswer Insurance Questions

Contact InformationIntroduce the Team

Communicate with ClientsTransact Business

Partner with Other Businesses

BASIC ELEMENTSReflect Your Brand

Design Simplicity & Consistency

Pleasing Images and Colors

Works across Web Browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, IE)

Easy to Navigate

Useful Content

Quick Loading Time

Speaks to Your Clients & Potential Clients

Current

NEXT LEVEL ELEMENTSDynamic Content

Interaction

Personalization

Social Media Crossover

Mobile & Tablet Compatibility

Quoting & Sales Functions

BEWARE

ELEMENTS TO AVOIDIncorrect/Outdated Information & Typos

Overdoing the Design

Flash, Sounds, Music, Excessive Pop-ups

Awkwardly Sized Images & Logos

Changing Basic Functionality

Confusing Navigation

Jargon & Acronyms

Text Only

oh no, they didn’t!

Marvis Contemporary ToothpasteLeoneck Hotel

NVEnergize

and yet, they did!

LOOK AROUNDKnow what’s going on with… Your Carriers | Your Competitors | National

IIABA ACT Resources

• www.independentagent.com/ACTTrust Choice Offers

• Marketing Reimbursement Program $500Vetted Syndicated (RSS) ContentListing in the Trusted Choice DatabaseBranding Information & Research

SPY WITH SEARCHGoogle it:

lay-terms

commonly asked questions

“car insurance + a location”

“workers comp + a location”

“boat insurance + a location”

IMAGESWeb-friendly format (.jpg or .gif).

your logo, companies, associationsperiodically logos change!correct size

Proper PermissionsPurchase Stock PhotographyFree Stock

stock.xchg (http://www.sxc.hu)

Your OwnRelationship BusinessTesting reveals a 95% Conversion Rate when a REAL photo is used **

CONTENTName, location(s), areas you serve, phone and emails

Keyword Rich Pages

• Lines of Business & Niche Markets • Staff Introductions with Contact Info• Carriers, Associations & Organization Affiliations• Claims Reporting Information • Offer

• Get a Quote\New Business Applications\Contact Form• Testimonials• Insurance Information & FAQ’s (Blog)• Video (+75% of internet users are watching online video)

KNOW THYSELF

GETTING CLOSER

ASK YOUR TEAM…What are their ideas?

What do they want/value in a site?

What would help them do their jobs better?

What will their roles be in this process?

Who is the project lead?

ASK YOUR CLIENTS…Who is the site for?

potential or existing customers

What is your current client base like?

young/mobile or old/landline

What will your client base look like in 5 years?

how will they find you?how will they want to do business?

KNOW WHAT YOU NEEDThe budget is _________.

The timeline is _________.

Have your logo/tag line ready.

The basic functionality you require.

Have a list of several sites you admire.

How interactive you want the site to be.

How often you anticipate making changes.

How you want to interact with your developer.

GETTING A PROPOSAL

TIME TO SPEAK TO A PROFESSIONAL

FIND YOUR WEB DEVELOPERGet a recommendation

Approach some local businesses with great sites

Contact other agents (try other states)

Try a site like elance.com (not an endorsement)

Interview a few people. Call the references.Judge their response time and their work. Be very comfortable with the person/team AND their preferred method of communication.

WHOLE PACKAGE DEALSContract for a whole package…

Agency Revolution

Astonish Results

Project CAP

Hubspot

DO IT YOURSELF

ARE YOU CRAZY?

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:Budget

Technical Skills

Scope

Time (and interest level)

Support

DIY Means: More Work - More Control

Less Cost - Less Choice

APPROACH OF CHOICE• Free and open source blogging tool and a

dynamic content management system (CMS).

• You will need hosting service in addition to the domain.

• A small-business friendly web developer might use Wordpress, too.

• Often SEO optimized.

• Make changes and create dynamic content on your own.

• Use plugins to enhance the look and add functionality.

• Easily add media content.

WORDPRESS EXAMPLES

Massahu.org

Metro South Insurance Agents Association

The Murray Group

JDC Insurance Group

Hartzler Digital Media

THEMESTheme is the overall template structure of the site

Range from very rigid to very customizableFree – least customizable Ready to Purchase – LOTS of options Custom– employ a designer to build your options

Most optimized for SEOelegantthemes.comsolostream.com

DASHBOARDAccess Administrative Functions

View Stats

WIDGETS & PLUGINSAdd Content Extras in your sidebars, footers and headers:

• Insurance Information (Personal & Commercial FAQ, Safety Tips, Disaster Preparedness, Auto Accident Refresher)

trustedchoice.com/agentbroker• Blog• Facebook• Video Components• Live Chat http://www.livechatinc.com

MONITOR & TWEAKWatch Your Stats, Clicks and Bounce Rates

do they correspond with your newsletters, facebookposts, direct mailings, national news, weather, the full moon?

Google Analytics Add free google software to get a more robust picture

of where your web traffic comes from.

Visualize Visitor’s Movement on Your Siteclicktale.com (not an endorsement)

RESOURCESInsurance Specific

• Steve Anderson – technology & automation• How Search Works• Agents Council on Technology • Insurance-Forums

Marketing & WP Specific• WP Beginner• WP Codex• Hubspot Blog • 7 Essentials Tips for Wordpress• Duct Tape Marketing